Contemporary Thai Horror Film
A Monstrous Hybrid
- The first book to study the prolific horror genre of Southeast Asia’s most internationally renowned film industry
- Provides an alternative way to examine Thai cinema through narrative structure and viewing context
- Considers how the social changes in Thailand since the post-WW2 period have impacted upon Thai film style
- Provides a new international case study of the horror genre
- Examines the changing political position of Thai horror
- Highlights the continuing significance of Thai horror films in the digital age and throughout the Southeast Asia region
This book focuses on the most significant and dominant characteristic of Thai cinema throughout its history: the Thai incarnation of the horror genre and the central role this plays in Thailand’s film industry.
Introduction
Chapter 1: Post-war Thai Cinema: Audiences and Film Style in a Divided Nation
Chapter 2: After the 16mm era: Horror and Progressive Social Critique
Chapter 3: New Thai Cinema and Nang Nak: Heritage Horror and Economic Crisis
Chapter 4: Thai Horror and the ‘Other’: Zee Oui and Ghost Game
Chapter 5: The Monstrous Thai feminine: Shutter and the ‘Vengeful Ghosts’
Chapter 6: Horror Beyond the Screen: Victim, The Screen at Kamchanod and Coming Soon
Chapter 7: Village Horror: Continuing a Provincial Film Style
Chapter 8: Middle Class Horror and Urban Modernity: The Promise
Chapter 9: Regional and International Success in the Digital Age: Folk Horror and a Southeast Asian Model
Conclusion
Bibliography
This book is a major contribution to the study of Thai cinema, offering a comprehensive analysis of one of its most popular genres and its key productions, emphasizing the industry dynamics and audience practices that contributed to its development. It is an essential text for any scholar engaging with Thai horror film.
Ranging from the earliest days of Thai cinema to the streaming platforms of today’s digital age, this is a sophisticated and highly knowledgeable study of Thai horror cinema and the cultural contexts it both articulates and interrogates. Essential reading for those with an interest in the nation, the region, and the genre.
